


Meet-Cute Meets Hot

by EternalEclipse



Category: Bleach
Genre: Awkward Crush, Fluff, High School, Karakura Town, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-15 23:38:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18083177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalEclipse/pseuds/EternalEclipse
Summary: After so much experience with new shinigami in town deciding to hide as students in his class, Ichigo thinks that the new senpai is probably safe to crush on. He's wrong.





	Meet-Cute Meets Hot

There were plenty of Shinigami to go around in Karakura these days. From a certain point of view, Ichigo knew that it was his fault—Rukia, despite her shikai, had been an unseated officer before she’d met him. The Shinigami the Gotei had formally assigned to the area immediately afterward his invasion didn’t have any great skill either. Obviously, Karakura hadn’t been on the Gotei’s radar before he’d had to rescue them from their shambles of a legal system.

He might still have to rescue them from Japan’s more functional one, however. The last time Ikkaku had visited, he’d gotten it into his head that he could pick fights at the high school like he was in the Eleventh’s barracks, and the less said about what the authorities made of the Tōshirō and Matsumoto duo the better.

In any case, he’d gotten used to seeing certain faces in Urahara’s shop, and occasionally his friends’ houses as well. They’d learned early that his closet wasn’t up for lend anymore, especially since Rukia didn’t come down anymore. Matsumoto liked to try to make him blush, Ikkaku and Yumichika were up for a fight even with Yumichika’s vanity, and even Tōshirō had caught on that he was making a game of his sensitivity, and that Ichigo did actually respect him.

He’d even gotten used to how they would periodically show up in the school, as ‘transfer students’. It had gotten to the point where Urahara had set up an ‘exchange program’ for a rotation of ‘students’ staying for a month or so. Even if Ichigo hadn’t recognized all of the Shinigami on sight, he presumed that anyone in that program was one.

That program had survived Tōshirō being accused of being seven (which was hilarious, especially for the three days he’d had to spend in the elementary school after all). It had survived Ikkaku, who looked ten years too old for high school. It had even survived Shinji, and Shinji was at least 800 years old, according to Hiyori. It was a done deal.

It was also why Ichigo didn’t think anything of the transfer student in the year above, except that his yearmates were more annoying than usual when distracted by a new face. Karakara High was overdue for some new human students, at any rate.

Hisagi Shuuhei was objectively attractive. Several of the girls were giggling over him at lunch the first day. By the end of the first week, a good portion of the school that remotely swung that way was too, whether they knew it or not. The guy might look like a tough guy, but a few days of watching him showed a kind nature underneath,  _not that Ichigo was paying any attention, he had more important things to be doing._

Ichigo was not best pleased to be told that, apparently, he did not.

Lisa, who was taking a rotation in the school, jabbed her elbow into his stomach at lunch. “Quit staring, brat.”

“I’m not staring! Who would I even be staring at?” Ichigo protested quickly.

“You said who, not what. You know what I’m talking about,” Lisa smirked. “School ends in three weeks. Ask him out, if you want him that bad. He’s hot, you’re hot, and it’s good to let off some steam sometimes.”

Ichigo blushed, and stuffed another bite of rice into his mouth.

That evening, he asked Yuzu if she wouldn’t mind making extra the next day. He was sure he wasn’t blushing, but Yuzu fell into the category of teenage girls who seemed to have a sixth sense for romance. Ichigo wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to walk around without blushing ever again by the time she was done.

He ended up leaving it anonymously in the guy’s locker, taking advantage of his flash step not to be seen. How he’d managed not to out himself when he saw the guy eating it later, he would never know.

That evening, Ishida was on patrol, and, friend or not, Ishida was a prickly little bastard. The last time Ichigo hadn’t been able to sleep and took his patrol, Ishida had spent the entire time criticizing his sense of style until Ichigo was bored to tears, before presenting him a short sleeve shirt with Quincy crosses sewed in a pattern several days later and pestering him in his way until Ichigo wore it around town.

Needless to say, Ichigo felt that it would be a better use of his time to crash Urahara’s for his training space. The shopkeeper never seemed to have a problem with him dropping in, and his hollow was always good for a fight.

Ichigo was distantly aware that there was another person in the basement, the sounds of destruction were rather difficult to miss, but he didn’t pay it any further mind than to flash step to a further reach of the place before unleashing his sword. His hollow sprang into existence, bled of all color except the angry yellow of his eyes and the red tassel at his waist, and, of course, his language.

“Yah’ve forgotten yer edge!” his hollow taunted him. “Yer head is too full a’ fluff to hold any steel!”

And Ichigo had grit his teeth and pulled his blade to strike first, eager to prove himself wrong. He wasn’t sure if he’d quite accomplished  _that_ , but at least the hollow shut up in the end, going back into his inner world bloody and grinning.

It was a good fight, his muscles were warm with the effort. It was times like these that Ichigo was grateful for the healing pools that Urahara had, and stumbled his way towards the one he remembered.

Only, the pool wasn’t empty when he got there. Clouds of steam hid most of the person’s body, but Ichigo got the impression of a fit figure, and—and he was not going to check out whatever Shinigami was going to be crashing with Urahara for the next while, because he was probably going to have to see them in class, and that would be awkward. And it wouldn’t be over when whoever it was left, because Rukia would find out and hold it over his head forever. Or Matsumoto, for that matter.

By the time he got through those mental gymnastics, his presence and hesitation had been noted by his reiatsu. “You know, you can come in if you like. I don’t bite,” a male voice called over to him.

Ichigo made up his mind and flash stepped to a step away from the pool, shucking his clothes without looking at the occupant and diving in. Maybe they would presume the red on his cheeks to have more to do with the temperature than their body.

“Hi, Kurosaki-san.”

And Ichigo cursed his luck, because that was the hot sempai sitting across from him, with several facial scars and a tattooed ‘69’ on his cheek, looking at him with mild amusement and concern.

“Hi!” Ichigo forced out. Every cell in his body screamed  _Abort Mission_ , but he didn’t think he could move except to sink comfortably into the hot springs and be very grateful for the steam.

“Hisagi Shuuhei. It’s good to meet you. Matsumoto said you were fun to tease the last time I saw her. She’s usually a bit forward, though in this case it seems like she was right.”

Ichigo blushed harder, so he could feel it going down his back even as he pressed against the side of the pools.

“I’ll stop,” Shuuhei promised, smiling and putting an arm around Ichigo as he said it. When had he gotten so close? “Unless you don’t want me to?”

There. That, that was unfair. That small smirk, hiding in the corner of that smile. That one that said that he knew exactly what he was doing, exactly what was going on. That was good for him, because Ichigo barely did. He felt flushed and hot, hyperaware of where his body was pressing against Shuuhei’s. Hyperaware that, less than a meter away from Shuuhei’s hand on his knee, he was as hard as he’d ever been in his life.

Ichigo took a moment to just breathe, and Shuuhei drew away slightly. “Sorry if that went too far,” he apologized.

“Nope!” Ichigo regained his voice. And his hollow was going to reprimand him for being a blushing fool later, but at least he wouldn’t also beat him for being a wishy-washy one as well. “Perfectly happy where that was going.”

Emboldened, Ichigo wrapped his arm around Shuuhei in turn, and then they were kissing, and it was even better than he’d dreamed.

* * *

The world turned on. Ichigo went to school the next day. Lisa knew immediately, of course. She spent the rest of the day ribbing him whenever she got close enough. Because of her, Chad and Ishida both caught on quickly, and both remained relatively silently judging the entire day. Orihime hadn’t, he knew, or the rest of the school would know, small mercy that that was.

The days went by in a whirl of school and sparring at Urahara’s and kissing, and dealing with the occasional hollow.  Ichigo found out that Shuuhei was not-so-secretly a literature nerd, and they passed time sitting and reading in each other’s presence.

It wasn’t all going to be good. They’d had some interesting times at school before the local thugs realized that there were a good dozen fighters trained better than them that were willing to take them apart for going after Shuuhei and Ichigo, including both of their targets. And Shuuhei was going to go back to Soul Society sooner rather than later, something that had them considering briefly doing a no-strings arrangement.

So maybe it wasn’t going to work. The world turned on. But they were going to give it a chance. Fate owed them both a good turn, after everything, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> A bit late--this was written on time but life interfered from posting it. Also chopped in half and edited quickly so if I missed anything or things are paced awkwardly I apologize. And it's my first stab at ShuuIchi, which was interesting to say the least! There might be more from me on the pair in the future, I had so many ideas for the dynamic that didn't fit in here! In any case, hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
